Bed Bath & Beyond Begins Rebuilding Depleted Executive Team, With Walgreens CMO

3/5/20

By James Brumley, Motley Fool

Beleaguered home goods retailer Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) is one hire closer to filling the six executive jobs made vacant in mid-December. The company announced on Wednesday it had tapped Walgreens Boots Alliance Chief Merchandising Officer Joe Hartsig to do the same job at Bed Bath & Beyond, effective immediately.

Man's hand laying personnel puzzle piece in place

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

Hartsig will assume his new role during a trying time for the organization. Bed Bath & Beyond's revenue has been largely stagnant since 2015, and fell significantly through the first three quarters of 2019 as the retailer sought to overhaul its operation. And, while the official fourth-quarter report has yet to be filed, the retailer warned investors in February that December and January same-store sales had slipped 5.4%.

CEO Mark Tritton was hired in October and tasked with turning the company around by replicating the success he had as chief merchandising officer at Target, but has yet to put an end to the deteriorating results. It's still too soon to expect a sweeping rebound of the company's results though, particularly given the shakeups Tritton's arrival has prompted. In December, in the midst of the holiday shopping season, a total of six key executives left Bed Bath & Beyond, including its chief brand officer, chief marketing officer, and the chief merchandising officer, whom Hartsig has now replaced. In January, Tritton laid out a simple but crucial recovery strategy that prioritized, among other things, selling the right products at the right price.

Hartsig's job will directly involve him in products and pricing matters as well.

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